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Chrysler CE - 3 Speakers

R

rocman

New Member
Hello everyone. New to AudioKarma.

I rescued a pair of vintage Chrysler CE - 3 speakers from a friend who was cleaning out his basement and was getting ready to throw these away. I was intrigued by the classic 60's style and heavy duty construction of these speakers.

I took them home and besides some dirty pots and missing tone knobs, I was blown away by the incredible sound and dynamic range.

It looks like information on this brand is extremely limited on the net. I have found a couple pages on other models but so far nothing on the CE - 3.

I would love to know more information about these classics as well as the company who built these. The cabinets are built like a tank of 7/8" material the access screws to the back are filled in and appear to be original. Each speaker weighs 60lbs.

Other than the missing knobs, these speakers appear to be very original and unmolested.

Any info on these would be appreciated. Attached is a photo and link to webshots with more.

Regards!

 
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There was recently a cool looking bent mid-horn on ebay that was made with the crysler name brand. It's an orphan but looked well made in that 60s Japanese kinda way. Too bad it wasn't a pair -I would have bid.

-E
 
Yup, no information on the CE-3 that I could find. All the pages that had Crysler line-ups had that model missing.
I'm guessing they are late '60s.
クライスラー スピーカー

Looks like you can bi-amp those speakers.
 
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interesting . i've seen cryslers at flea markets and thrift stores , and they had nothing
in common with anything on the crysler page .

i saw cheaply made , knight or zenith(pre allegro)style speakers, with thin , lightweight plywood enclosures , crappy cone tweeters , and rca jacks , screw terminals , or bare wires
coming out the back .

i suppose crysler was like Coral in some ways ... marketing junky bargain stuff along with
high end hifi .
 
Those look great! Before you play them the next time, you should see if you can get the grills off and check the surrounds - if they're rotten away, or if they crumble when you push on them (gently), don't play them again until you refoam them.
 
I have a pair of the Ce-2a

I picked up a pair of Cryslers years ago. I need to rework the crossovers. They really do sound great! Here is a picture and a link to more:

Crysler+CE-2+Living+Audio+Loudspeakers+_11_+_Large_.JPG


Crysler+CE-2+Living+Audio+Loudspeakers+_7_+_Large_.JPG


Crysler+CE-2+Living+Audio+Loudspeakers+_9_+_Large_.JPG


http://www.micksmothers.net/gallery2/v/Billy/Stereo+Gear/Crysler+Speakers/

The link that ryuuoh posted is the only information that I have found. I was in touch with a guy that purchased a pair of the tweeters that come in these cabinets. He wasn't sure if he was going to use them in a specific project, but he didn't stay in touch, unfortunately.
 
Thanks to everyone for the replies. Iam in the process of sending some photos to eastmarinedrive.

I looked at the grilles to see if they are removeable so I could inspect the speakers. It appears the only access is through the rear of the speaker which is sealed. I really hate to start taking things apart for fear that I may detract from their originality. I suppose it doesnt really matter but a large part of the appeal to these speakers (for me) is the classic 60's styling and originality.

anyway - gonna keep researching these to see what I can find.

Regards!
 
By the way, rocman, you will see the name spelled "Crysler" quite often as well. I understand your hesistation to remove the back panel, but that was the only way I could see to get into my cabinets easily. The drivers are mounted (as you can see in my pictures) on threaded studs and are held on by nuts that screw on from the inside. Even with the back panel off, I could see no way to remove the grill from the front of the cabinet.

One final note: My cabinets are biampable as well. These speakers are going to be my best effort at total speaker restoration. They are in decent shape with all of the drivers in great condition and present. The grills are a 9 out of 10 (one small pull), but the cabinets have significant veneer damage. I am also quite confident that the crossovers are not in spec any longer.
 
I've seen the model in the pics above 3-4x in local thrifts. Never intrigued enough to try them, though.
 
There was a Crysler model with a 15" woofer, dual 5" mids, dual cone tweeters and a horn supertweeter... stood about 40" tall or so. Those cabinets make awesome E-waves or the like. I used a Pyle Pro "clone" of an Altec 811 (PH714) and a reworked Utah 15" woofer in a pair I had... just blanked off the other holes. They would do ANYTHING. Wound up selling them to a church in middle GA, to use in a big room they use for youth events and such... last I heard, they were VERY happy with them!

Many of these Crysler speakers had VERY good plywood cabinets- as in up to 1" thick walls. Great basis for custom re-work or re-build!

Regards,
Gordon.
 
I could swear I spelled the speakers correctly in my original post. These are indeed Crysler speakers not Chrysler as the title of the post says. Perhaps my bad.
 
I have seen it spelled both ways:

Crysler+CE-2+Living+Audio+Loudspeakers+_Large_.JPG


plate.jpg


Living Audio is the name of the parent company. When searching out information, try spelling it both ways, and also search out Living Audio.
 
Crazy! The translator in Tokyo was drunk one day.

To the OP, I'd open them up and not worry about 'originality' in terms of the screws. If the surround are bad or going bad the woofers will not sound right and may be ruined with playing as well. There are probably capacitors in the crossovers that need to be replaced at this age. If you found a great old car you wouldn't worry about putting new tires on it...
 
Wow, those things look fantastic!

The late-80's B&O speakers I hust picked up have rotten surrounds, so I would check anything older than 20yrs for sure. Accidentally ruining them would really stink.
 
crysler or chrysler speakers?

I own a pair of ce-2 chrysler speakers made in japan but the emblem on front and back say chrysler with a ce emblem and chrysler name spelled out below it.not crysler but the model fits. that weird. even the drivers say chrysler on them. I found these in the early 80s.They have the gold grillcolth and tin frame around it, heavy and sealed box. 1 12 woofer 2 4 mids and 2 3 tweeters.dual control in the rear.probably on par with utah or klh then/ I believe from the 60s.
 
I have a pair of Ce-509 and theyre the best sounding speakers ive ever heard and would never part with them. Has anybody found anymore info or bigger database. In all the info ive found,i can find none of this model. They are much much larger than any ive seen in picks. The pair that Kenrick sound did are the same size far as cabinets,but mine have many more speakers in them.DSC00260.JPG DSC00261.JPG
 
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